A Place for Your Home

I am getting an amazing opportunity to share our experiences with our new home. When we were looking at homes, one of the first things we looked at is orientation of the home, or which way the front and back faced. We knew we wanted a home where we could enjoy being outside without roasting in the sun and heat, especially in the late afternoons and evenings. We also knew we wanted to be able to walk and ride our bikes from our home.

These considerations for a place for our home enabled us to choose a home that better met our needs and our values. As you can guess, sustainability in our home is high on my list and I wanted to get the best we could for our investment – both up-front and on-going costs in the form of maintenance, operation and utilities. We’ve repeatedly found that making smart, conscientious choices with our home and the land our home sits on is a good move.

The next step in our journey is creating a backyard that we love. We hired Jamie of Olthia to create a concept for our backyard. Olthia specializes in creating outdoor spaces that “reclaim nature.” We loved the process and had fun discovering what was really important to us in our yard. We discovered that we wanted a low-maintenance yard where we could gather with family and friends. We wanted a yard that requires little watering once the plants are established. We love color and butterflies and the gentle swaying of grasses in the evening breezes, yet we wanted a tree for birds and a little shade. She took our wants and challenges and created a concept we can implement on our own. And yes, we will be in yard mode this fall, getting our yard started.

To get the gab and more on the place where your homes lives, check out the Green Gab Podcast “Where Your Home Lives” You can catch it on iTunes too (just be sure to search for “Green Gab Podcast” to bypass the Anne of Green Gables entries). I’d love a comment or rating on iTunes too. (Thank you to Matt Risinger for showing me that – the feedback is so important!)

Every week on iTunes and The Green Gab Podcast, get the gab with us as we share what we’ve done, as well as tips for greening up your home, your job, your family and your life! Get in on the gab for why green matters – to you, your family and friends and your community.